Tube-feeder for saws.



, w. P. CLARK.

TUBE FEEDER FOR SAWS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1913 1,121,167, Patented Dec. 15,1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES INVENTOR 'HE NORRIS PETERS C0,. PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. D r

W. F. CLARK. TUBE FEEDER FOR sA'ws.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1913 1,121,161 Patented Dec. 15,1914.

1 SHEEN-SHEET 2 W. F. CLARK.

TUBE FEEDER FOR SAWS.

APPLICATION FILED 0204,1913

Patented Dec. 15, 191 i SHEETS-SHEIIT 3.

WITNESSES W. P; CLARK.

TUBE FEEDER FOR. SAWS.

APPLICATION FILED D204, 191a,

Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET4.

'11! NORRIS PETERS Cu PHOTO-LITHO WASHINU You. n

W. F. CLARK.

TUBE FEEDER FOR SAWS.

APPLICATION FILED BEBE-4,1913.

l 1 21 1 67. Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

7 8HEETSSHBBT 5.

THE NORRIS PErEies co PHOTO LITHO. \VASHrr/Lium u c W. F. CLARK.

TUBE FEEDER FOR SAWS.

APPLICATION FILED 0204,1913.

Patented Dec. 15,1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

WITNESSES W. F. CLARK.

TUBE FEEDER FOR SAWS.

APPLICATION FILED 11110.4, 1913.

1,121,167. Patented Dec. 15,1914.

7 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

'15 NORRI PEIERS co PHOTO LIYHO wAsnIm, 11w, 0

WILLIAM F; CLARK, OF CORAOPOLIS, PENNSYLVANIA.

TUBE-FEEDER FOR SAXVS.

Application filed December 4, 1913.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WVILLIAM F. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Coraopolis, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement 1n Tube-Feeders for Saws, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this SPBCI? fication, in which Figure 1 is an end view of one form of my improved tube feeders for saws; ig. 2 is a plan view; Fig. 3 is a front view; Fig. 4: is a partial tranverse section through the feeding device; Fig.5 is a fragmentary end view of the feeding device driving mechanism; Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a detail front view of a portion of the stop mechanism; Fig. 8 is a detail side elevation of a portion of the driving sector with'the stop lug attached thereto; Fig. 9 is an end view similar to Fig. 1 showing the parts in the position they occupy after the tube has been cut; Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view showing the driving connections at one end of the shaft 5; Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the manipulator driving pinion; Fig. 19 is a side elevation of the driving collar; Fig 13 is a perspective view of the stop lug; and Fig. 1a is an end view of a tube feeder to which I have shown connected an automatic device for delivering the tubes to the feeder.

This invention relates to a device for cutting tubes to length and squaring'the ends hereof, and is designed to provide an ethcient device of this character, which will out the tubes to length without forming a bur around the inside of the tube. I accomplish this by moving the tube bodily toward the cutting saw or saws until the saw has cut through the wall of the tube, and then rotating the tube about its own axis against the action of the saw so that the bur will be carried to the outside by the saw and be continuously cut away as the tube is rotated. This prevents the formation of any bur on the tube at any point after it has been completely severed from the imperfect end.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of'this character which Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

Serial No. 804,566.

can readily be adjusted to out tubes of various diameters and in which a saw of small diameter can be used, as it is only necessary to pass the saw through the wall of the tube and thereby greatly reduce the costof the saws.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device of this character which is provided with a plurality of saws so that I can cut one end with one saw, then move the tube along and cut the other end with the other saw, and thereby eliminate a great deal of time and labor in moving the tube a distance equal to the length thereof.

A further object is to so mount the saws and the manipulators that the saws together with the manipulators can be moved longitudinally with relation to each other to place the saws at a predetermined position with relation to each other to cut tubes 7 of various lengths.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device which will automatically move the pipe or tube into position with relation to the saw or saws, rotate the tube and then permit it to drop out of the machine onto a proper conveyer,'if I am cut ting tubes to length, or if I am merely squaring one end after the other, to place the tubes on a conveyer so that they can be read ily moved along longitudinally in front of the machine for the second cutting operation, and readily removed therefrom after the second cutting operation.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device in which all of the various parts are driven from a single source of power, and in which the manipulator is automatically stopped after each out if the machine is being used for squaring one end after the other, or in which the device can be arranged to operate continuously and automatically deliver tubes to the manipulator and permit them to drop from the machine after the ends have been severed, if I am cutting tubes of small diameter to a given length.

The precise nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, which will now be described, it being premised, however, that various changes may be made in the details of construction and general arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims. 7 7

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the reference character 2 designates a base which may be continuous or may be made in sections in alinement with each other, and supported on this base is a plurality of frames 3, 3 and 3 and journaled in bearings in these frames are shafts 4, 5 and 6. These shafts are journale'd in all of the frames 3, 3 and 3 and the various driving mechanisms in the frames 3 and S are splined to the shafts so that the frames 3* and 3 can readily be moved along the base 2 to adjust the position of the frames with relation to each other in 'a longitudinal direction so that the device is adaptable to cut tubes of-any given length, as hereinafterdescribed. 3

slidably mounted on the base plate 2 on the outer sides of the frames 3 and 3 or connected to these frames 3 and'3 are the saw-supporting frames 7 and 7 These frames are also provided with journals for the main driving shaft 4, wh-ich'may be connected to a motor or any other suitable sourceo'f power, so that it would be continuously driven when the machine is in operation. H

As the manipulator frames 3, 3 and 3 as well as the saw frames 7 and 7 are duplicates of each other, I will merely describe the operatingmechanism at one end of the machine.

Fulcrumed on'the shaft 4 is a yoke member 8 which has bearings at its upper end in which is journaled ashort shaft 9, to which is secured a scw 10 and a driving pulley 11, which 'isconnected by means of a belt 12 to a driven pulley 13 on the driving shaft 4. p I

14 designates a yoke which 'is pivotally connected at its upper end and has a screw 15 adjustably secured to a bracket 16, which may be connected either to the outer side of the frame 3 or to the base 2.

17 17 are nuts on the screw 15 for'secu'ring the yokes 8 and 14 in their proper position so that the saw 10 will merely cut through the 'wall'of the tube when the tube to be cut is brought to its proper position with relation to the parts, as hereinafter described.

Mounted in bearings in the end frame 3 is a transverse shaft 18 which is continuously driven by means of a bevel gear 19, which meshes with the bevel gear 20 on'the shaft 4. Mounted on this shaft 18 is a worm 21 which meshes with a worm wheel 22, which is free to rotateon a short longitudinal shaft 23 journaled in bearings in the end frame 3. r

24 designates. a clutch member which is slidably mounted on the shart'23, and is arranged to be normally held in engagement as hereinafter described.

with a clutching device 25 on the worm wheel 22 by means of a spring 26. The clutch member 24 is splined to the shaft 23 so that the shaft will be rotated when the clutch members are in engagement with each other. Secured to the inner end of the shaft 23 is a slotted crank 27 and adj ustably secured in the slot of this crank member is a crank pin 28 having a roller 29 seated in a slot 30 in a sector '31. This sector 31 is j ournaled on a spindle 32 connected to the end frame 3, and is always in driving connection with pinions '33 and 34 on the shafts 5 and 6, 'respec tively,-so that these shafts'are reciprocated to drive the tube manipulators, Connected to the shafts 5 and 6 are pinions 35 and 36, respectively. The pinion '35 is in mesh with a rack 37 on the upper manipulator slide 38 l which is mounted on guides '39 connected 'to a rocking frame 40, which is fulcrumed on the shaft 5 and incasesthe gear wheel 35.

The rear end of this rocking frame 40 is connected tofthe frame 3 by means of a spring-pressed plunger 41 and is arranged to hold the manipulator slide 38 downwardly on the tube to be out.

Slidablymounted on guides'connected to the frame 3 is a reciprocating member 42 which is provided with a rack 43 meshing with the teeth on the pinion 36. Connected to the upper faceof the reciprocating member 42 is a filler block 44, and connected to "the upper face of this filler block 44 is a gripping'plate 45 having a recess 46 at one end thereof. The gear connections for the reciprocating members 38 and 42 are such that they will reciprocate in reverse directions with relation to each other in order to rotate the tube to be'cut about a given center, as'hereinafter described.

As before stated, the tube is first moved bodily toward the saws and is'then rotated about its own axis during the cutting operation. I accomplish -this by moving the lower slide member 42 a predetermined distance before the upper slide member 38 is actuated. As the pinions 34 and 36 are directly connected to the shaft 6, the slide member 42 will be moved when the shaft 6 is moved 'through'the medium of the sector 31 and its driving connections. The pinion 33 which meshes with the sector 31 is loosely mounted on the shaft 5, but has extending from one of thejopenings 47 a pin 48 which extends through a slot 49 in a collar 50 which is keyed to the shaft 5. By this arrangement'the lower slide member is moved a predetermined distance in each direction before the upper slide 38 is moved.

As before stated,'in one form of my apparatus, I desire to stop the manipulators after each cutting operation, and I accomplish this by means of a stop mechanism connected tothe manipulator mechanism in the end frame 3. Connected to the sector 81 by means of bolts is a stop 51 which may be connected in one of a plurality of posltions for adjusting the machine for tubes of different diameters. 52 is a shaft journaled in the frame 3 below the shaft 23, and connected to this shaft is a forked lever 53 having pins which engage the clutch member 24L and connected to the other end of the shaft is a lever 54. Pivotally mounted on a pin 55 which is parallel with a shaft 52 is a lever 56,'the upper end of which is provided with a roller 57 in the path of the stop projection 51. Pivotally connected to the lever is a link 58, one end of which is provided with an L-shaped slot 59 in which is seated a pin 60 connected to the lever 56.

When the manipulator is at rest, the various parts are in the positions shown in the drawings, and when it is desired to put the manipulator into action, the lever 58 is raised to permit the pin 60 to fall into the 7 horizontal portion of the slot 59, and the spring 26 will immediately move the clutch 7 member 2 1': into engagement with the clutch device on the worm wheel 22, so that the shaft 23 will be rotated, whichwill in turn rotate the crank 27,. tated in the direction indicated by the arrow on Fig. a, the sector 31 will be moved clownwardly to actuate the reciprocating manipulators 3S and a2 in the directions indicated by the arrows on Fig. i.

Assuming that a piece of tubing has been moved into the recess l6, as indicated at A in 1, before the mechanism is put into motion,the operation of the device would be as follows:The slide 42 will move inwardly and carry the tube to the position indicated at B in Fig. 1 before the lost motion between the gear 33 and the collar 50 is taken up, which will move the tube from the position A to the position B against an adjustable stop 61. As soon as the tube reaches this point, the lost motion between the collar and gear will be taken up and the slide 38 will move in the reverse direction from the movement of the slide 42 so that the tube will be rotated about its own center at the position B. During the bodily movement of the tube, the saw will cut through the outer wall thereof, and as the tube is 1'0- tated by the reverse movements of the slide members, the end of the tube will be severed from he main body of the tube. The length of the slides is so proportioned that the end of the lower slide l2 will pass under the center of the tube at about the time that the end of the tube has been severed, so that the tube will drop down and back of the slide 42. The mechanism will then be reversed so as to return the parts to the position shown in Fig. =1, and as soon as the stop 51 reaches the position shown in Figs. 4 and 7,

As the crank 27 is rothe clutch members will be disengaged from each other and permit the various parts of the manipulator to come to a state of rest.

The tube is always maintained under a spring pressure while under the control of the manipulator by means of the spring-.

pressed plunger 41, which is connected to the rocking frame 40, and the lower face of the slide 38 is roughened in any desirable manner so as to maintain a positive grip on the tube to rotate it about its center during the cutting operation.

If it is desired to adjust the manipulator to handle tubes of a smaller diameter, the stop projection 51 is secured to one ofits sector is shortened, which will in turn shorten the movement of the manipulator members 38 and 42. the sector is shortened by moving the crank pin 28 toward the shaft 23 by means of an adjusting screw 62, which is rotatably mounted in the end of the crank 27. The pin 48 is also placed in another opening 47 in the gear wheel 33, to give the proper amount of lost motion between the two reciprocating manipulator members, and the filler block 44, together with a plate l5, are removed and a shorter filler block secured in place thereof.

In the drawings, I have shown a device which is adaptable for cutting four different sizes of tubes, although the adjustments may be varied to meet the requirements of. various mills.

If it is desired to use the device for cutting one end of a tube with one saw and then move the tube longitudinally and cut off the other end with another saw, I place a runway such as indicated at 62 in Fig. 1, in front of the machine. This runway comprises a plurality of incline skid members which can be adjusted by means of screw jacks 63. The ends of this runway terminate short of the position of the tube when in the saw so that after the tube has been cut, it is moved rearwardly by means of the lower slide -12 onto a plurality of con caved rollers 64:, which are adjustably mounted on screw jacks (35 so that the tube can be readily moved longitudinally in front of the manipulator.

If it is desired to raise the device so that it will automatically convey the tubes to the manipulator and then permit them to drop to the floor after both ends have been cut off, I connect to the manipulator a feeding device such as shown in Fig. ll, and in which case the saws at both ends simultaneously cut the ends from the tube so that all of the tubes will be cut to a predetermined length;

In a device of this character, the stud shaft 32 is extended beyond the frame of the machine and has connected thereto a The stroke of '86 other positions and the movement of the' crank 66. Journaled' in suitable frame work or brackets is a longitudinal shaft 67 to which is connected a plurality of disks 68, which are provided with recesses 69 for conveying the tubes to the manipulator, and loosely mounted on this shaft is a rock arm 71 to which is pivoted a pawl 7 2 which engages the teeth on the ratchet wheel 74;. Connected to this rock arm 71 is a link 75 which is in turn connected to one end of a lever 7 6 whichis connected to the crank 66 by means of a link 77. It will therefore readily be apparent that for each reciprocation of the sector 31, the disks 68 will be moved 90 degrees and feed a pipe to the upper-faces of the manipulator slides 4.4.

In order to draw the tube feed to the slides 4e and into the recessesiti in the slide members 44, I provide each of'the upper manipulator slides 38 with a pivoted hook 78, the outer end thereof having a cam member 79; After the ends have been out from a tube, the various parts will be in the position shownin Fig. 9, and the hook members78 Will be'in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. let, so that they will extend beyond the tube proper which is fed to the slides l4, and as the mechanism is returned to its initial position after the cutting operation, the tube will be drawn forward from the slides 4-1 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 14L, so that the tube is ready to be moved forward by the slides 44 on the forward motion of the machine.

The advantages of my invention result from the provision of a manipulator which is arranged to automatically move the tube toward the saw and then to positively hold the tube in proper relation to the saw and rotate it about its own axis against the action of the saw. Further from the provision of means for removing the tube from the machine after it has been cut. Also from the provision of means for bringing the manipulator to a state of rest after the tube has been cut. Further from the provision of means for driving the saws and the manipulator from a single source of power. Further from the provision of means for readily adjusting the machine to cut tubes of various diameters.

This application is a continuation inpart of my application Serial No. 767,062, filed May 12,1913.

I claim:

1. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising movable feed slides, and means for simultaneously reciprocating said slides in reverse directions; substantially as described.

2. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising movable feed slides, means for reciprocating said slides in reverse directions, andmeans for permitting one of said slides to move a predetermined 4. A tube-cutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a manipulator for automatically moving the tube toward the saw and for holding and rotating it about its axis in a predetermined position with relation to the saw; substantially as described.

5. A tube-cutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a manipulator having upper and lower slides for holding the tube in proper position to be cut by the saw, and means for reciprocating said slidesyin timed relation to each other to rotate said tube about its axis during the cutting operation; substantially as described.

6. A tube-cutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a manipulator having upper and lower slides for rotating and holding the tube in proper position with relation to the saw, means for reciprocating said slides in opposite directionsv to each other, and means for permitting one of said'slides to move a predetermined distance in both di rections before the other slide is moved; substantially as described.

7. A tube-cutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a plurality of manipulators.

having upper and lower slides for moving the tube to be cut into proper position with relation to the saw and to rotate the tube about its own aXis,,and means for reciprocating saidslides in timed relation to each other; substantially as described 8. A tube'cutting machine, comprisinga plurality of rotary saws, a plurality of manipulators each having upper and lower slides for holding the tube in proper position to be cut by the saws, and operating mechanism for moving said slides in opposite directions with relation to each other, said operating mechanism being arranged to move one slide of each set a predetermined distance before the other slide is moved to bring the tube to a predetermined position with relation to the saw, and to then move both slides of each set in opposite directions to each other to rotate the tube about its axis; substantially as described.

9. A tube-cutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a manipulator having slides for positioning the tube and holding it in proper position to be cut by the saw, and means for reciprocating said slides in opposite directions in timed relation to each other; substantially as described. I

10. A tubecutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a manipulator having slides for positioning the tube and holding it inproper lot position to be cut by the saw, and means for reciprocating said slides in opposite directions in timed relation to each other, said means being arranged to permit one of said slides to move a predetermined distance While the other slide is at rest; substantially as described.

11. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising a plurality of oppositely moving slides, gearing for actuating said slides in reverse directions, and a sector connected to the gearingrof both slides; substantially as described.

12. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising a plurality of oppositely moving slides, gearing i or actuating said slides in reverse directions, and a sector connected to the gearing of both slides, there being lost motion between one of the gears actuated by the sector and its slide; substantially as described.

13. A manipulator for tubecutting machines, comprising a plurality of reciprocating slides, actuating mechanism for reciproeating said slides in reverse directions and in timed relation to each other, a clutch mechanism, a continuously driven actuating mechanism, said clutch mechanism being arranged to connect the slide actuated mechanism with the continuously driven mechanism, and mechanism for disengaging the clutch; substantially as described.

1i. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising movable feed slides, actuating mechanism for reciprocating said slides in reverse direction in timed relation to each other, a source of power, a clutch connection betweenthe source of power and the slide actuating mechanism, and a stop for disengaging said clutch; substantially as described.

15. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising movable feed. slides, means for simultaneously reciprocating said slides in reverse directions, and means for applying pressure to one of said slides to exert pressure on the tube to be actuated by the slides; substantially as described.

16. A tube manipulator of the character described, comprising a plurality of reciprocating slides, guides for said slides, actuating connections between said slides for moving them in proper relation to each other, and means for driving said actuating connections; substantially as described.

17. A manipulator for tube-cutting machines, comprising a plurality of slides for engaging a tube, guides for said slides, means for moving said slides in opposite directions, and a pivoted hook on one of said slides for moving the tube over the other slide; substantially as described.

18. A tube-cutting machine, comprising a rotary saw, a plurality of manipulators hav-' ing upper and lower slides for moving the tube to be cut into proper position with re lation to the saw, and to rotate the tube about its own axis, and means for reciprocating said slides in timed relation to each other; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof,I have hereunto set my hand.

lV. F. CLARK. lVitnesses J nssn B. HELLER, H. M. GORWII'L Gepiee of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

